Portrait of Nicolas Boileau Despréaux 1710

"Portrait of Nicolas Boileau Despréaux" is an engraving by François Chéreau, the elder, created in 1710. This black and white print, housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, depicts the French poet and critic Nicolas Boileau Despréaux in a bust-length portrait. Boileau is shown wearing a powdered wig and a coat, with his gaze directly at the viewer. The engraving’s inscription highlights Boileau’s status as a prominent literary figure in France. The inscription compares Boileau to the great Roman poets Horace and Juvenal, noting his lasting influence on French literature. This engraving is an example of the portraiture genre, a popular style in the 17th and 18th centuries.